PETA offers synthetic shuttlecocks for national camp of BAI

Mumbai, Feb 12 (UNI) The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has offered the Badminton Association of India (BAI), who had to call off the national camp in Goa due to unavailability of shuttlecocks, a solution - the usage of plastic shuttlecocks.

PETA, which learned that the outbreak of bird flu among chicken and geese had prevented the Sports Authority of India (SAI) from importing the shuttlecocks from China and Chinese Taipei, has sent a letter along with two boxes of the best quality of nylon shuttlecocks to the BAI general secretary L C Gupta.

PETA in the letter to the BAI has pointed out that the synthetic shuttlecocks are not only guaranteed to be bird-flu free, but are more durable than those made with feathers, a release stated here today.

PETA India Chief Functionary Anuradha Sawhney said, ''Just as birds should not be killed for a sport, the sport also should not die out because of bird flu.'' ''If anything good can come out from this bird flu epidemic, it might be the synthetic shuttlecocks, which will bring this ancient sport into the 21st century,'' she stated.

The national camp was to start from February 6, to train and prepare teams for Thomas and Uber Cup qualifiers slated for later this month, but the bizarre situation forced the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to abandon the camp and the shuttlers had been asked to go back home.

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